The End Is Where It All Began
by LeeGrabs
Summary: Danny Quinn crashes back into the lives of the ARC team, but his return brings with it a government investigation over Lester's handling of Philip Burton and New Dawn, an investigation that is being managed by a former colleague of Lester's, one who he hasn't seen in a long time… (Sequel to Just Like Old Times)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Its been a long time, but I have now made some progress with my sequel to 'Just Like Old Times'. Ideally, its probably best to read that before you start this, but not vital although there may be a few references to JLOT story line. **

**So enjoy, and let me know what you think.**

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><p><strong>Chapter One - Coming Home<strong>

As Reverend Ashley Peters locked the doors to the St Matthews Parish Church, all he could think about was getting home to nice a cup of tea and an afternoon repeat of _Antiques Roadshow._ He pulled the bronze handle on the old church door towards himself, making sure the heavy wooden door was properly locked. He then turned around and slowly walked down the old cobbled path towards his blue Ford Focus. He unlocked the car door and eased himself into the driver's seat, careful putting the suitcase in his hand onto the passenger seat. He then put the key into the ignition and started the engine, listening as the car roared into life. Putting on his seatbelt, he pushed the handbrake down, and without another look backwards, he slowly eased the car forward onto the main road, away from the church building. As the car disappeared from sight, the window of the church which was normally pitch black, suddenly erupted into light, a twinkling, moving sort of light, one that danced in the darkness…

xxxx

Danny Quinn was tired. He was hot. He was hungry. And most of all, he just wanted a beer, a nice cold beer at the side of the swimming pool, and maybe a bikini clad blonde slowly massaging her soft fingers into all the nooks and crannies of his tense muscles. But instead, he was stuck in the Silurian desert, trudging through the sand, looking for an escape route. He cast his mind back to a time when his life was fairly normal, when he lived in a house, had a job, had friends, and most importantly, had beer…

_"__I'm telling you Danny, they were massive scorpions, huge" Connor said frustrated, looking up at the older man, who was grinning._

_"__Okay, let me get this straight…you're trying to tell me that back how-ever-many years ago, there were giant scorpions bigger than a double decker bus, running through the desert?" Danny said, glancing at Abby, who gave him a grin and a thumbs up._

_"__Yes Danny" Connor said for what felt like the millionth time "Cutter and Stephan told me about them, said they were massive" Connor said, taking a sip of his beer._

_"__Okay, so what were they called then" Danny said with a serious look on his face, trying not to laugh. Winding up Connor was just too easy…_

_"__I don't know the exact name of the top of my head- but I think we went with Silurian Scorpions" Connor said, noticing the intrigued look that had fallen over Sarah's face._

_"__Really original that Connor, Silurian Scorpions…scorpions…in the Silurian" Danny said, bursting into laughter, Abby and Sarah both grinned whilst Becker gave Connor a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, before he stood up and went over to the bar to get more drinks._

_"__You git Danny" Connor said, draining the last of his beer before standing up, wobbling slightly "I hope you end up stuck in the Silurian and meet the scorpions, and then I hope you get eaten by one"_

Why the Silurian? The anomalies led to anywhere to any era in the Earth's history- the past, the present and the future. Danny could have ended up anywhere, on some tropical beach where there were no prehistoric monsters trying to eat him. Adjusting his footing on the rock he was standing on, he made sure he didn't touch the sand. He thought back to the conversation he and Connor had had back in the past about how the scorpions hunted using vibrations. Danny then looked around the vast desert, looking for any form of shade to rest under. But there was nothing, nothing but sand filled the horizon.

Danny let out a roar of frustration before sinking down onto the rock he was stood on. It had been just over a year since he had been stranded in the past, but it had been worth it to know Helen Cutter was dead, and that the crazy bitch wasn't able to hurt anyone else ever again. But Danny had paid the ultimate price; he was stranded in the past with no way of ever getting home. Danny then let his head fall back, and it was then Danny noticed it. About twenty feet away from him, in the middle of the sand was an anomaly. For a moment Danny thought he was hallucinating, that the sun was playing with his head again. But then he watched as the shards of glass slowly circled the ball of glowing light and he realised that it was real, that this was his chance to get out of the heat, the desert, and away from the huge scorpions. Looking around briefly for any sign of movement in the sand, Danny then jumped from the rock and sprinted towards the portal in time, not knowing where he would end up. As Danny jumped through the anomaly, he felt the familiar feeling of pins and needles, and then he felt like he was being pulled through a cheese grater. The first thing Danny registered was the coldness as he landed on a cold stone floor, and it was dark, taking a moment to breath, Danny then shivered slightly- it felt odd going from sweltering heat to coldness on his skin.

Danny then looked around at his new surroundings, it was then he realised that he was indoors, looking closer, Danny immediately realised he was in a church, In front of him were rows of chairs, and the anomaly made the colour's on the stained glass windows dance around the room.

_"__Am I home?" _ This was the only thought going through Danny's mind "_And if I'm not, then where the hell am I?"_

Looking round the small church building, Danny walked straight over to the heavy wooden doors, pulling on them. It was then he realised they were locked from the outside, sighing, he then turned to the left and noticed a flight of stairs. His curiosity getting the better of him, Danny made his way up the stairs- just as two pick-up trucks skidding to a halt on the gravel outside.

As Danny climbed the stone steps, he heard car doors slam shut and was pretty sure he knew who was going to walk through the doors, the ARC team, but would it be the same team he had left behind. Reaching a small balcony that overlooked the room below, Danny stepped back into the shadows just as unrecognizable voices began talking on the other side of the wooden door. Danny then heard a series of small clicks before the sunlight from outside flooded into the dark church. Four shadows moved into the church, the heavy door plunging the room back into near-darkness, with only the light from the anomaly visible. Danny watched as the four people moved further into the room, shining their torches into every corner of the room.

"You lot took your time" Danny said loudly, still keeping the shadows, he then watched as someone stopped, a familiar looking woman then slowly turned around, before aiming her torch in Danny's face. Danny then saw another familiar figure move next to the first one, before shining his torch light at Danny, causing him to shield his eyes.

"You have got to be kidding me?" The man said, but Danny noticed the grin on his face, stepping forward, Danny smiled.

"Defiantly not kidding mate" Danny replied, before letting out a small laugh. Danny then watched as the woman stepped forward, and he noticed her mouth hanging open slightly- he then watched as she uttered the name he knew she never thought she'd say again.

"Danny Quinn…"

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><p><strong>What do you think, I have completed about 10 chapters so far, with updates probably coming about once a week. Feedback is always lovely, so why not hit the review button and tell me what you think! D<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two - Next Steps**

All things considered, Jenny Lewis was rather pleased to see him. It had been five long hours since the ARC team had been reunited with Danny Quinn, and since his return, it had been non-stop for all concerned. After a quick chat inside the church, Danny was ushered into a car under Lester's orders and taken to the Anomaly Research Centre where the ARC director was waiting for him. Since then, the two of them had been locked in Lester's office which overlooked the ARC's Hub area. Jenny cast her mind back to the moment she had seen Danny as he bounded down the stairs in the church, the memory bringing a smile to her face.

_Jenny felt the butterflies in her stomach as she watched Danny disappear from view and heard the faint sound of boots running down the steps, she then saw Danny emerge from the staircase, and her mouth dropped open as he came into view._

_It had been over four years since Jenny had seen Danny, and she wasn't prepared for the shock of seeing him again. The first thing Jenny noticed was how much weight he had lost- the shirt he was wearing seemed to be hanging off him, __and his hair was much longer, nearly as long as Connors to be exact, but it was matted and unkempt, and as Jenny looked closer, she could see each strand was a different length. She then looked at his face, apart from the uneven stubble covering his cheeks and chin- he looked the same as he had four years previous. The only change was that he looked slightly older, and there was something about his eyes that looked different._

_"__Danny, it is so good to see you" Jenny heard Abby say, before watching as she rushed forward and threw her arms around Danny's neck, and Jenny saw as Danny buried his face into Abby's shoulder. She then watched as Becker moved forward and wrapped his arms round Abby and Danny. Just then, the wooden doors were thrown open to reveal the bright sunlight, and Connor was standing in the doorway._

_"__Right, let's get this anomaly locked and get ho-" Connor said brightly, before his mouth dropped open as Danny turned around._

_"__Danny…" Connor said, almost breathlessly, looking his former team leader in the eye "What the hell are you doing here? I thought you were…were…" Connor mumbled, and Jenny saw a tear slowly fall down his cheek. She then saw Becker and Abby release Danny, before Connor stepped forward and hug Danny tightly. After a few moments Connor and Danny broke apart, and Danny turned around, looking at Matt with a grin on his face._

_"__I don't think we've ever met" Danny said, looking Matt in the eye and holding out his hand._

_"__Matt Anderson- team leader for the ARC operation, I've heard a lot about you Mr Quinn" Matt said, holding out his hand grasping Danny's- before shaking it._

_"__Call me Danny mate, everyone else does" Danny said, letting go of Matts hand and then turning to finally face Jenny, who he had deliberately left till last._

_The two of them stood in silence for a moment, just looking into the others eyes. The rest of the team stood watching them. Then silently, Danny opened his arms and winked at Jenny, who let out a laugh and moved forward towards the only man who gave her butterflies…apart from Cutter. Jenny buried into her face in Danny's shoulder and felt as he wrapped his arms tightly around her._

_"__You really do smell Danny"_

As Jenny sat in the ARC's Hub, watching as Danny and Lester spoke, she heard footsteps walking towards her and looked across to see Matt Anderson grinning at her.

"You really did miss him didn't you?" Matt asked, pulling a stall from under the table and sitting down next to Jenny.

"I actually did Matt…when I retired. I nearly died that day, we encountered this…. thing…" but Jenny couldn't continue, she had given herself goose bumps just thinking about that day.

"I know what happened that day Jenny" Matt said quietly "When I became team leader, I made it a personal responsibility to read through the mission reports of the old ARC and to read up on the former team members. All of them" he finished, given Jenny a small smile.

"When I woke up, the first person I thought about was Cutter, no one else. Just Nick" Jenny said, turning from Matt to look at Lester's office again "And yet, when I realised Nick was gone I felt like I had the closure I needed. That day, I got a new life, so I handed the team over to Danny and left and I didn't look back. But there was person I couldn't get off my mind. Danny." Jenny finished simply, turning back to Matt, who just smiled at her.

"Then tell him how you feel, before you don't get the chance. Life is way too short Jenny- this job proves it" Matt said, before standing up, leaving Jenny staring at the office once more.

Xxxxx

"We'll continue this discussion in the morning, for now, go get a shower. Captain Becker will escort you there" Lester said, holding his office door open "He'll then bring you back here, we need to sort out accommodation for you" Lester said.

"Wait, what about my flat, I'll just go there?" Danny said as if this was the simplest solution, and Becker gave the ARC director a look.

"We sold your flat Danny" Lester began "About a year after you disappeared. The money made from the sale was put into a savings account in my name, where your wages were also paid into. I kept you on the books, even if you were missing, you were still an ARC operative" Lester said matter-of-factly, Danny just raised an eyebrow.

"And my stuff, is that all gone?" Danny asked.

"Captain Becker and I cleared your flat. Most of your stuff went to charity, however we did keep some personal effects, there were stored downstairs" Lester said, just as Danny registered what Lester had said a moment ago.

"Wait, you kept paying me guv, but it's been nearly five years…" Danny trailed off, trying to work out how much would be sitting in this account Lester held.

"Well you technically were still working for the ARC, and we had no confirmation on your…situation" Lester replied delicately "Don't get too excited, it was only half pay, but it should still be enough to sort something out" Lester paused as sniffed the air slightly "Now go and shower. The smell coming of you is beginning to make me heave" Lester finished and his mouth curved into a small grin. He then stepped aside and let Danny walk past to where Becker was leaning against one of the work stations.

"Come on then Quinn, let's see how much prehistoric dirt your covered in" Becker said, placing a hand on Danny's shoulder and leading him through the Hub. Danny glanced around to see Jenny watching him leave, she raised a small hand and smiled. Once Danny was out of sight, Jenny marched across the Hub towards Lester, who said nothing as he just held his office door open, letting Jenny enter.

"Take a seat Miss Lewis" Lester said, walking round the back of his desk and sitting in his desk. He then opened the desk drawer and produced a bottle of whiskey and two glasses. Silently, Jenny watched as Lester poured the amber liquid into the two glasses. He then passed one to Jenny, who raised it in the air, Lester did the same and lightly tapped his glass against Jenny's, before downing the contents of the glass. Jenny raised her own glass to her lips and swallowed the liquid, which burned the back of her throat, and yet felt surprisingly good.

"How is he James?" Jenny asked bluntly, resting her glass on the desk.

"I honestly don't know Jenny" Lester said, leaning back "For someone who had to survive for two years alone, in the distant past, fighting dinosaurs and god knows what else; he seems rather…" Lester paused, as if trying to find the right word "well rather sane…" he said, looking Jenny in the eye.

"Wait, two years? He left disappeared in 2009, its now 2014…it's been over four years since the others went after Helen" Jenny said to Lester, realising this could be really complicated.

"For us it's been that long, but for Danny, he's been trapped in various time periods for only two years" Lester said as he lifted up a battered piece of paper and passed it to Jenny, who took it from him and opened it up. She could see hundreds of tiny tally marks covering the paper.

"How many days was he trapped for?" Jenny asked the ARC director.

"711 he told me, trapped god knows where. Who knows what his mental state is like" Lester said, careful not to look Jenny in the eye.

"What will happen next, I mean, where will he go from here?" Jenny questioned, trying sound like she really wasn't interested. Lester gave her a look before speaking.

"I want him to undergo a mental-health assessment and also medical examinations. Then we'll see Jenny. I need to make sure he is completely stable before I can even think about making decisions about his future. Jenny nodded, and the two of them sat in an uncomfortable silence. Then Lester looked Jenny in the eye.

"There's something else Jenny…"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry for the delay with the update, today there will be two chapters uploaded. Why not drop a review and let me know in what direction you would like this story to take, or just feedback. Its always nice! :)**

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><p><strong> Chapter Three – An Adventure Through Time<strong>

"Wow, nice pad Jen, you've done well for yourself" Danny said, kicking off the black boots he was wearing and walked through the hall way towards the living room. As Danny walked in he looked around and the first thought that came to mind was this _was very Jenny._

"Thank you, although I've only been here about four months. I sold my old place to be closer to the ARC, everyone is pretty nearby. Jess has an apartment about a mile from here which she shares with Abby and Connor, Becker lives in a building about two roads away. Matt and Emily are much closer to the city and the ARC though" Jenny said, sliding her high heels from her feet and watching as Danny looked at her bookcase in the corner of the room. Silence filled the room, which was eventually broken by Danny.

"Are you gonna stick the kettle on then Jen?" Danny said, turning to face Jenny with a grin on his face.

Jenny smiled before walking into the kitchen and pressing the plug for the kettle; she then turned around and faced Danny, who was standing awkwardly by the window overlooking the road outside. He had changed out of his ruined clothes; they were currently at the ARC with Connor, who was running tests on them, hoping to gather information about the time periods Danny had ended up in. He was now wearing a Captain America t-shirt loaned to him by Connor; the amount of weight Danny had lost meant he was now a similar build to the ARC's computer geek. He also had on a pair of black combat trousers courtesy of Becker, a belt holding them on his waist. Jenny and Danny stayed in silence until the whistling of the kettle filled the room. Jenny then reached into the cupboard and pulled out two mugs.

"Do you want tea of coffee Danny?" Jenny asked, watching Danny as he looked absentmindly around her flat.

"Coffee Jen please, this will be the first decent brew I've had in two years" Danny said, and Jenny could hear the excitement in his voice.

"Take a seat Danny, I'll try and dig out some biscuits too" Jenny answered, and watched as Danny made his way over to the table positioned by the window. She then proceeded to make two cups of strong coffee and pick up a packet of chocolate biscuits from the cupboard before making her own way to where Danny was sat. She placed the coffee mugs on the table and sat down opposite Danny, watching as he tore open the biscuits and held one up.

"You don't understand how beautiful this little thing is, sheer perfection" Danny said with a grin, before taking a bite of the biscuit, and Jenny couldn't help but laugh at the moan he let out. Jenny watched as Danny munched his way through six more biscuits and drank his coffee, she then re-boiled the kettle and made the two of them a fresh coffee.

"So, how are you doing Danny? It's just me and you now, no Lester or the rest of the team, so be honest with me" Jenny stated as Danny looked awkwardly down at the mug he was clutching in his hands.

"I'm fine, just a bit overwhelmed. For me it's been two years since I left, and when I get home, my friends tell me it's actually been nearly five years. I've missed so much" he said, and Jenny couldn't even imagine how hard this was for him.

"I'm so sorry Danny, I know this is probably the last thing you want to talk to about, but I need to know what happened to you on the other side of the anomalies" Jenny said quietly, watching Danny closely looking for any kind of reaction. For a few minutes he didn't say a word, and Jenny waited for him to initiate the conversation.

"When I left Connor and Abby in the Cretaceous, I followed Helen through an anomaly to the where the first humans are recorded to have begun. Helens plan was to kill them and stop mankind from ever have existed, but she only managed to kill the first 13 before she died" Danny began, looking Jenny in the eye.

"So you managed to kill her, Helen is dead?" Jenny asked and Danny nodded.

"With some help from a raptor, but yeah, she's dead, as dead as a dodo" he added, before his face fell slightly, Jenny wasn't going to push him into talking about what happened. Eventually he carried on.

"I made my way back to where the anomaly had opened but I didn't make it in time. It closed just before I could reach it. So I was stuck, trapped in prehistoric Africa with no way of getting home. It was beginning to get dark so I found a cave and just waited. I was stuck there for about three months before I found an anomaly, so I took a chance and went through it" Danny said quietly. Jenny didn't say anything as she didn't want to interrupt his thoughts.

"I ended up in medieval England, just outside Sherwood Forest. I stumbled on this little village in the middle of the woods; the people there thought I was some spy for the king. I'm not sure exactly how it happened, but I panicked and told them my name was Robin" Danny said, a small smile found its way onto his face.

"Robin…? Please tell me you're joking?" Jenny asked, not believing what he was telling her, had Danny really been the cause of numerous stories and old tales.

"Yep, Robin, they added Hood to the end as I always wore the hood up on the cloak they gave me" he said, looking Jenny in the eye.

"Robin Hood, your Robin Hood?" Jenny asked, stunned at his story "You have got to be joking with me?" she mumbled.

"Not a joke Jen" Danny said as he took a sip of his coffee "I was stuck there for about fifteen months, it that time I robbed from the rich to feed the poor. What was happening to those people was much darker than in the Disney version" he added, and suddenly Jenny saw a different look in his eyes.

"One day when I returned from a scouting mission to Nottingham castle, I saw an anomaly floating in the distance and I knew I had to leave. I had taken an orphan under my wing, Jack his name was, he was eighteen, I made him swear he would carry on the guise of Robin Hood, made some crap up of him being remembered in hundreds of years…he just laughed in my face" Danny said, remembering back fondly of his time in the past.

"You're being completely serious aren't you? Jenny asked him, and he just smiled at her. Shaking her head she took a sip of her coffee before continuing "So where did the anomaly lead you, please tell me you didn't do anything else?" Jenny asked him.

"No, that anomaly took me to the 60's. 1964 to be exact, which was a pretty dull year to be honest, although did you know that was when the plans for the World Trade Centre were revealed. I ended up in Australia, was there about four months, then I travelled through the final anomaly into the Silurian" he said, suddenly going very quiet, he then excused himself and went to the toilet. Whilst he was in there, Jenny checked her phone and saw numerous text messages from the some of the team.

**Abby**: _Jen, how's Danny? Is he okay, let me know if you need anything at all! Xxx_

**Becker**: _Hi Jenny, hope you and Danny are okay. Spoke to Lester and he said Danny is staying at yours, will drop some clothes for him later this evening. X_

**Connor: **_Jenny, make sure Danny doesn't ruin my t-shirt, it's my favourite! Speak to you guys tomorrow :) xx_

**Jess: **_Hola Jenny, I rearranged your 10am meeting to 4pm for you, I thought you might want to be at the ARC during Danny's Psych Evaluation. Call if you need anything! Xxx_

**Lester: **_How is everything Miss Lewis? Call me if you need anything._

"Everything okay?" Danny asked quietly, causing Jenny curse out load and she jumped in her seat. She quickly turned around and saw Danny smirking at her.

"Not funny" she said, but knew she couldn't be angry at him, she beckoned for him to come sit down, which he did.

"I was going to order take out, what do you fancy" she asked, and his face lit up like a kid on Christmas morning.

"Pizza, lots of greasy pizza. And wedges, and garlic bread" Danny exclaimed watching as Jenny stood up and pick up a takeaway menu of the kitchen counter, she then passed it to Danny.

"You pick, I'll have a Farmhouse" she said, passing Danny the home phone "Are you okay to order, I need to make a quick phone call" she asked him, he gave a nod and began typing in the numbers into the phone.

Xxxxx

Two hours later, Jenny and Danny had finished dinner and they both relaxing on the sofa catching up on the news and what was happening in the world. Every now and then, Danny would ask a question on what he had missed in general life, after a while Jenny glanced over at the former ARC team leader and saw he was slowly nodding off, his head lolling backwards.

"Danny" she said loudly, causing him to jolt awake "Why don't you go to bed, I made the spare room up for you. You look like you could do with a decent night's sleep" Jenny said sympathetically, watching Danny carefully, eventually he sighed and nodded as he stood up.

"Fine, you win, although there are easier ways to get me into bed" he grinned at Jenny, but he was unable to miss the cushion that hit him in the face.

"Aright, lead the way Jen" he mumbled quietly as he let out a loud yawn rather looking forward to the first night's sleep at in a proper bed in two years.

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><p><strong>AN: What did you think? Hit the review button and let me know! :)**

**D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four – Nightmare**

Jenny led Danny into the spare room of her flat, it had been a while since anyone had slept in it, the last people being Becker and Connor after the team had a night out and the two of them had a little bit much to drink. It was dark outside so Jenny switched the light on, filling the room with a dim glow. The room contained a large double bed with a bedside cabinet on either side. There was a chest of drawers and a two door wardrobe on the far wall and the blue curtains were pulled shut. The room felt open and airy, and Danny looked around at the various canvas pictures that were hung up on the wall showing sandy beaches, the theme Jenny had been trying to go for was a coastal theme in the room.

"I'm just across the hallway, come and get me if you need anything, okay?" Jenny told the tired man as he plonked down on the bed.

"I will" he said simply "Listen Jen, thanks for letting come back with you. Tomorrow we'll talk some more, okay?" he finished giving Jenny a shy look, she gave him a small smile and nodded.

"Goodnight Danny" she said sweetly before bending down and lightly kissed his cheek. She stood up and went to the door before turning around.

"I'm glad your home" she said quietly and Danny smiled at her statement. She was right, he was home.

"So am I. G'night Jen" he answered as Jenny shut the door.

Xxxxx

Half an hour later Jenny was sat on her sofa watching a repeat of _Come Dine with Me_. Although, she wasn't really watching it, it was more background noise as she thought about Danny and what he must have been through over the past two years. She lifted the wine glass she was holding to her lips and took a small sip, just as she heard a light tapping on the front door. Standing up, she made her way to the door and opened it, revealing Becker standing there, holding a large gym bag in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other.

"Hey Becker, come in" Jenny said quietly and stood aside as Becker made his way into the flat.

"Where's Danny, it's too quiet in here" Becker asked, and Jenny held a finger to her lips as she silently opened the door that led into the spare room. The two of them saw the top of Danny's head under the covers, he was lying on his side facing the wall, his breathing low and quiet. Jenny shut the door and mentioned for Becker to follow her into the living room, she then shut the door.

"How long has he been asleep for?" Becker asked as he toed his shoes off and placed them by the door, he dropped the gym bag next to them and walked into the kitchen area.

"About half an hour I think, we did lots of talking" Jenny said as she followed Becker, finishing the wine in her glass as she walked. In the kitchen, wordlessly Becker put the bottle he bought with him in the fridge and took out the opened one Jenny was currently drinking. He then poured some into the glass Jenny was holding before opening a cupboard door and getting out his own glass, which he proceeded to fill.

Ever since the events of _New Dawn_ and the near end of the world, the two of them had become good friends, and many evenings were spent doing this same routine. Becker would bring a decent bottle with him and the two would talk about anything and everything, it was no way romantic, they just both enjoyed the company as both of them lived alone.

The two of them then made their way back into the living room and they sat down on the sofa, Jenny lifted her feet up and tucked them underneath her whilst Becker's legs were stretched out in front of him, his feet crossed on the floor.

"How is he Jenny? Honestly?" Becker asked he lifted his glass to his lips, he watched as Jenny took a long drink she before she answered.

"I don't know, I honestly don't. He's been trapped in the distant past for two years and yet he seems fine. I just feel like he's not telling me everything" Jenny said, and she begun recounting what Danny had told her about his previous two years. Becker stayed silent the entire time, listening as Jenny explained everything to him, she eventually got to his adventures in medieval England.

"Robin Hood, he was Robin Hood?" Becker asked, not sure he had heard right "He must be joking?" he said, looking at Jenny, who shrugged.

"I don't think he is, he didn't elaborate but from what he was saying it wasn't all men in tights and bows and arrows" Jenny answered, just as Becker let out a loud groan.

"He's never going to let that go is he? That he was Robin Hood" Becker said as he ran a hand through his hair. Jenny just laughed as she shook her head and disappeared into the kitchen, returning moments later with the bottle of wine Becker had bought with him.

"More wine?" Jenny asked, although she poured it into his empty glass before he could answer.

"Looks like a yes doesn't it" he answered giving Jenny a smile "This'll be my last one though, don't want to be too drunk to walk home" he added, watching as Jenny poured some into her glass.

"Nonsense, you can stay here. Danny would probably like to catch up with you in the morning" Jenny argued with the military captain.

"Well if your sure Jenny, I don't want to put you out" Becker answered.

"I'm sure, although will the sofa be okay? The spare rooms already full" Jenny said, she already had a house guest.

"The sofa is fine, its much comfier then Jess's anyway" Becker said, smiling as he remembered the time he had had a _Lord of the Rings_ marathon with Connor and he had ended up passing out on the sofa. He slowly stood up, placing his glass on the small coffee table before quickly putting on his trainers.

"I'll quickly run down to my car and get my work bag" Becker said as he noticed Jenny watching him, she gave him a nod before standing up herself.

"Okay, well I'll reheat some pizza from earlier for you if you want?" Jenny asked, Becker gave her a thumbs up and disappeared from view, she then heard the front door click shut. Jenny carefully padded down the hallway to the spare room and slowly opened the door, she smiled at the sight that met her. Danny was now lying on his back, his chest rising and falling slowly, one arm was behind his head and the other on his chest, he looked so very peaceful, she slowly shut the front door and disappeared back into the living room.

xxxxx

_As he sprinted through the rocky terrain, he knew the creature wasn't far behind him. He could hear the rustling in the air of the sabre-toothed killer. Knowing he needed to get to higher ground, he carried on running as he heard a roar to his left. Before he could register what was happening, he felt like he had been hit by a car, the force of it knocked the air out of his lungs, winding him. He was knocked to the ground and he skidded on the gravel surface of the ground, he could feel the small jagged rocks ripping his skin._

_Letting out a groan, he eventually came to a stop, his face in the dirt. Gasping for breaths of air, he slowly blinked and rolled onto his back, and it was then he saw them. Two sabre tooth tigers were standing over him, blood dropped from there razor sharp teeth. One of them let out a quiet __growl as it licked the blood that was dripping from its teeth. Then, in slow motion, the larger cat leapt forward towards him, and he let out a blood curdling scream as the razor sharp teeth pierced his skins, he then felt warmness as blood spilled from the wound, pouring out onto his chest- _

Danny's eyes shot open and he sat bolt right up in the bed, breathing heavily as he quickly glanced around the room, he knew he was in Jenny's flat, and that he was safe, but the nightmare had been so vivid and it felt so real. He then heard footsteps moving quickly outside the door, a moment before it burst open to reveal the silhouette of someone he wasn't expecting to see.

"Becker…" he mumbled quietly as the military captain moved into the room.

"What happened Danny, is everything okay?" Becker asked reaching the head of the bed and kneeling down.

"It was nothing, just a nightmare" Danny replied, feeling his body slowly wake up and his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he then noticed Becker was wearing a pair of black boxers and a tight red t-shirt "What are you doing here, I'm still at Jenny's right?" he asked the captain, who nodded.

"This is Jenny's, I was staying the night" Becker replied, he then noticed Danny's frowned brow "On the sofa mate" he then saw the former ARC team leader relax a little bit.

"Do you want to talk about it, your dream I mean?" Becker asked, and saw Danny shake his head.

"Not now mate, I just want to sleep" Danny said, letting out a yawn and rubbing his eyes. Becker gave him a nod and stood up.

"Okay mate, well I'm just in the other room, come and get me if you need anything" Becker said and he saw the slight panic in Danny's eyes.

"Don't go mate" Danny said quietly, and Becker saw the tears prickling in his eyes. Knowing exactly what Danny was feeling, he gave Danny a small nod and wordlessly waited for him to move other to the other side of the bed. He then climbed in next to Danny and lay on his back, he hands crossed and resting in his lap.

"Night Becker" he heard Danny say quietly and then he felt him roll on to his side, his back facing Becker.

"Goodnight Danny" Becker answered and slowly closed his eyes, letting sleep take over him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five – Fit for Duty**

**6.35am**

Jenny woke up early the next morning, it took her a few minutes to feel remotely human enough to get out of bed and make herself a coffee. Once the kettle had boiled and she had made a strong mug of black coffee, she carefully and quietly made her way into the living room making sure she didn't wake Becker up as she entered. She checked her phone and saw a message from the ARC, specifically from the night shift coordinator. There had been an incursion in a primary school during the night and some substantial damage had been caused, they had left Jenny's contact details with the caretaker. Jenny sighed; she knew she would need to get to the ARC extra early that morning.

Jenny sat down on the sofa in the living room, which was already filled with light from the sun flooding through the curtains, when she realised that one of her house guests wasn't where he should have been. Confused, she placed her mug on the coffee table and stood up, making her way to the spare room, slowly opening the door before smiling at the sight that met her.

Both Danny and Becker were lying in the bed, the light breathing from each of them in sync with each other. Danny was on the side closet the wall whilst Becker was on the other, they were both on their sides, but back to back, Jenny silently took a picture on her iPhone just as one of the men spoke.

"Show anyone that Jenny, I will poison Verity" Becker mumbled as his eyes slowly flickered open and he sat up in the bed, looking at Jenny through bleary eyes. Jenny raised an eyebrow at him, knowing the military captain wouldn't dare touch her favourite orchid.

"Who the hell is Verity?" Danny asked, having been woken up by the pairs conversation, Becker grinned as he climbed out of the bed.

"Just a plant Jenny has in her office, she's had it since she's been back" Becker replied as Danny also sat up.

"Wait, you named a plant? That's a bit weird" Danny stated as he stretched his arms out in front of him.

"Enough about Verity, its 6.50am, we have an hour to get ready and then we need to be at the ARC" Jenny said, before disappearing into the bathroom whilst Becker and Danny their morning coffee.

**8.30am**

Jenny pulled her car into her space in the underground car park of the Anomaly Research Centre, closely followed by Becker and Danny, the latter having decided to drive with the military captain. Jenny turned off the ignition and climbed out of her car, she then opened the boot and lifted out her paperwork before she locked the doors and waited for Danny and Becker to reach her.

"What's the plan for today then Jen?" Danny asked as the three of them made there towards the lifts that would take them up into the ARC.

"You have a meeting with Lester this morning, and then you're having a full medical before your psych evaluation with Doctor Andrews, Lester will be in there with you though so you won't be on your own" Jenny said as they walked into the lift and it began moving upwards.

"I thought it might be nice if we all had lunch together, you can catch up with Abby and Connor and meet Jess, Matt and Emily properly" Becker said, giving Jenny a smile.

"What about Sarah, will she be there?" Danny asked, just as the lift came to a stop and the door slowly slid open. Both Jenny and Becker just looked at each other; they thought Lester may have told Danny about Sarah yesterday. Becker gave Jenny a nod and she knew he was okay with telling Danny what had happened to their former colleague.

"I have to go Danny, but call me if you need me at all?" Jenny said quickly as she began walking away, Danny watched her until she rounded a corner and disappeared from view; he then turned to look at Becker.

"What's happened Becker, where's Sarah?" Danny asked, he could feel something had happened. Becker took a deep breath before silently leading the former team leader into the ARC armoury, which was located just off the main Hub, thankfully the large room was empty. Becker slowly shut the door behind them, looking Danny in the eye for a moment before finally starting to speak.

"Sarah's gone mate" Becker said simply as he leant against the wall of the room, Danny just looked at him.

"What do you mean gone? Like she quit?" Danny replied, although deep down he somehow he knew this wasn't the case, he could see Becker's eyes had glassed over.

"She's dead Danny. She was killed four years ago, when we tried to rescue you" Becker said, deciding to leave out the bit that it was because of Philip Burton that Sarah had died, that was a story for a different day.

"How…I mean what happened?" Danny asked numbly, sitting down on the bench at the side of the room, Becker took a deep breath before sitting down next to Danny.

"After you, Connor and Abby didn't return from the Future, we knew something must have happened to you. Lester authorised missions through the anomaly at the racetrack to try and find you. They didn't work, we found no sign of you in the search area, and I lost a lot of good men to the Predators. It was during the fourth mission, only me and Sarah went through, I couldn't risk taking anyone else with me. Sarah only came because she argued it with Lester" Becker sighed, and then a small smile found its way to his lips "You know how stubborn she was, she would have just followed me through anyway" he paused and Danny noticed the change in the military captain face.

"We expanded the search area and Sarah and I found a building that seemed to be the ARC but a future version of it. We found the main control room and I left Sarah there to check out the rest of the building. It was all clear" Becker stopped and took a moment to compose himself; Danny placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a small squeeze.

"There was nothing I could do to save her" Becker mumbled out as a stray tear slowly fell down his cheek, Danny could feel the tears pricking in his eyes and he didn't want to cry in front of Becker. The two men sat in silence for a moment, until a knock on the armoury door interrupted them.

"Sorry to disturb you guys" Matt said awkwardly "but Lester wants to see Danny" he told them, Becker quickly wiped his eyes and stood up, followed by Danny.

"Come on then Quinn, let's get to you Lester before he comes down here" Becker said, as the two men followed Matt of the armoury.

**15.50pm**

"So what is it Connor? Why did you call me down here?" Matt asked as he walked in Connors lab, she saw the younger man sat at his desk in front of piles of papers, he also had two ARC laptops in front of him that seemed to be running the same program. A light layer of stubble was growing on his cheeks and chin, and Matt noticed he was wearing the same outfit he had been wearing the previous day. Connor didn't reply, he just beckoned the ARC team leader to come over to where he was sat.

"Have you even been home Connor?" Matt questioned as Connor finally looked up at him.

"Nope, I've been analysing Danny's clothes. It took a while so I began tinkering with the data I was able to recover from _New Dawn _and the figures of the anomaly data that Burton had collected" Connor said as he searched through the papers for one particular sheet, he found it and passed it to Matt, who looked at it closely, frowning as he placed it on the desk.

"What exactly am I supposed to be looking at Connor?" the team leader asked.

"It's the data of the opening of every known anomaly the ARC has encountered since we began back in 2006, it eight years of data we have. Well I created an algorithm and began running the data through the program I designed that could possibly predict a rise or fall in the anomalies" Connor began as he typed on one of the laptops in front of him before he pressed enter on the keyboard to project the image onto the blank wall behind him. He then pointed to one set of graphs on the wall; the computer geek glanced over at Matt, who looked as impassive as he always did.

"The data shows that since Burton manipulated with the anomalies at _New Dawn_ we've had a spike in the number that have been appearing, which has been increasing over the past five months. The predictions also show that at some point in the near future, hundreds of anomalies are going to open at the same time, everywhere" Connor finished, looking Matt in the eye, and for the first time, Connor saw a slight look of worry in the team leaders eyes.

"Who else have you told about this Connor?" Matt asked as he slowly closed the door behind him and sat down at the desk, Connor shook his head.

"Okay, I think we need to keep it that way, at least for now. We need confirm your findings and make sure we are absolutely sure we have got it right before we go to Lester" Matt said quietly to Connor, who gave him a small nod.

"This is strictly off the record Connor, I need you to back your data onto an external hard drive and delete it from the ARC network, make it completely untraceable. Can you do that?" Matt ordered.

"Yeah, it will take me a few minutes, there's hell of a lot of data on the system" Connor replied as he set to work on the ARC laptop.

**21.20pm**

Lester opened his office door and Doctor Mark Andrews, the ARC's head doctor and psychiatrist walked in holding a large file of papers in a folder, he sat down in the chair opposite Lester's side of the desk and waited for the ARC director to take his seat.

"So what's the verdict Doctor?" Lester asked bluntly and he opened his desk drawer and pulled out a bottle of whisky and two expensive looking tumblers. He filled the two glasses a quarter of the way and then passed one to the doctor, who left it untouched on the desk.

"Physically he is fine, slightly underweight but that is understandable for what he has been through. He has a couple of injuries which seemed to have healed okay, two chipped ribs and a deep wound on his left shin, and his bloods came back okay, no harmful antibodies that we can find" the doctor replied, giving Lester a concerned look.

"What about his mental state mind Andrews?" Lester said, getting to the point as he drained the contents of his glass and gave the doctor a stern look.

"Danny has been trapped on the other side of the anomalies for the past four years, although from his perspective it has only been two years of his life. We talked for a long time about the things he had seen and what he had experienced, but we have only touched the surface" Doctor Andrews replied, finally lifting the glass from the desk and downing it in one.

"What do you recommend, is he fit for duty?" Lester asked as he leant forward in his seat and crossing his hands resting on the desk.

"I want to have counselling sessions with him twice a week for the foreseeable future until I am happy to say otherwise. As for his role at the ARC, I'm not even sure he wants to be here, that's something you and him will have to discuss. If you do want to employ him, there is no way he is fit for field work, however if you were to find something in the building under which he would have close supervision then I would be reluctant but happy to clear him for duty" the doctor answered before standing up and placing the file on Lester's desk "It's going to be a long road until he is 100 percent fine, but with his friends around him and the right support network I'm confident he will be fine" he finished as Lester stood up and held out his hand, the doctor shook it before opening the office door.

"Thank you Andrews, where is Quinn now?" Lester asked.

"I sent him home around an hour ago, he went with Miss Lewis and Captain Becker" he replied, before walking away from Lester and disappearing round the corner. Lester let the door close and he turned back to the large file Doctor Andrews had left on his desk, letting out a loud sigh, he silently poured himself another drink, knowing it was going to be a long, long night.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six – Unexpected Arrivals**

It had been a week since Danny had returned through the anomaly into the present and back into the lives of the ARC team, and in that time, the former team leader had found the transition much more difficult than the other members of the team could have ever expected. Jenny had practically moved Danny into her spare room, she hated the idea of her friend staying in some cheap hotel or in the ARC accommodation alone. Becker had been staying at Jenny's flat every night since Danny had returned to the present, normally starting the night on her sofa but by the morning he would be in the spare room lying next to Danny in the large double bed having comforted him after his regular night terrors.

Jenny hadn't found the right moment to bring up the subject of a possible job with Danny, and he had spent his time confined to the ARC either catching up with Connor, Abby and Jenny or getting to know the newest members of the team Matt, Jess and Emily, he had also had two counselling sessions with Doctor Andrews but he hadn't really spoken to anyone about these apart from Becker. Jess and Abby had taken Danny out shopping so he could get some clothes of his own, and he seemed to have a thing for checked shirts and jeans. He had also had a haircut and now he looked more like the man they had known before his disappearance through the anomalies.

On the eighth morning after his return, Danny found himself in Lester's office sitting opposite the ARC director, who was watching him rather intently.

"So how is it being back Quinn" Lester asked, and Danny was surprised by the question.

"Fine guv, I think. It's been a little mental, everything is so different now. New building, new team, I don't know where I stand anymore" Danny said honestly, opening up to his former boss. Lester knew Jenny had been struggling to find the right moment to ask Danny about coming back to the ARC, so he thought he might as well do it, this now was perfect.

"If you had the option of coming to the ARC, working with us full time, how would you feel about that?" Lester asked, watching Danny for a reaction.

"What would I be doing though, would you want me back in the field?" Danny asked, just as the ADD alert went off. The sirens blared through the ARC and the red lights puled in the corners of the Hub. Both Lester and Danny watched as the team appeared and assembled at the ADD, they watched as they waited for the information they needed from Jess. The team then disappeared from the Hub, Danny turned back to face Lester, waiting for an answer.

"You won't be able to be back in the field until Doctor Andrews clears you. However I have spoken to Jess and there is always administrative stuff that needs to be done, and Abby has said she could use your help in the Menagerie" Lester said.

"So I'd be doing all the stuff no one wants to do" Danny asked, feeling a little dejected.

"You'd be doing the stuff that the team needs help with. Hiring people here is a ridiculously complicated task, the fact you have the clearance and already know what we do means we don't need to do all the paperwork to get your recruited" Lester replied, trying to make the former team leader feel better about the situation. The phone on his desk rung loudly and the ARC director picked it up.

"James Lester…yes Jess, fine, give me a moment" Lester said before putting the phone back down before standing up, Danny also stood and followed Lester out of his office.

"Go get some breakfast or something Danny, and then Jess will set you up with the relevant clearance for the computers and your new ID" Lester said, dismissing the other man as he paced through the Hub to Jess.

Xxxxx

The alert the team had received that morning had been pretty routine, the anomaly had opened up in the store room of a bakery in the city, and the team arrived in time to lock the portal in time before a creature had come through, meaning there was no incursion for the team to deal with. After two hours, the team returned to the ARC minus Matt and Emily, who had decided to have lunch in the restaurant next door to where the anomaly had opened, with the excuse of monitoring it. Abby had stolen Danny from Jess and was setting him to work in the menagerie with her whilst Jenny was sitting on the sofas in the corner of the Hub writing up her overdue field reports.

Jess, Connor and Becker were gathered around one of the workstations, pouring over Connors new designs for the updated Locking Mechanism he was working on, or MK VI as he liked to call it. This latest design Connor was working on was hopefully going to be able to deal with underwater anomalies, as the number that were appearing was slowly beginning to increase. The ARC's technical geek really did value the opinions of the field coordinator and the military captain, as they spotted flaws and possible improvements he generally wouldn't, they also asked questions that Matt didn't think of, but soon the conversation turned to Danny.

"How is he doing Becker? I haven't really properly spoken to him about what happened whilst he was…away?" Connor asked Becker, who put the papers he was reading down and looked at Connor.

"As well as can be expected. It was a different experience for him then what it was for you and Abby, you two had each other, he was completely alone" Becker answered, trying to keep his answer as vague as he could.

"Your right, I just assumed because he spent half the time acting as Robin Hood in medieval England it might have been not as bad" Connor answered, whilst in the distance the lift doors pinged loudly and slid open, Jess looked up and she nudged Becker's shoulder, nodding to the lift.

"Why has Richard Walker just walked into the Hub?" Jess asked the two men, who both looked as shocked as she did. They watched as a man, maybe in his early fifties walked out of the lift and towards Lester, who was waiting by his office. The man was tall and was wearing a dark suit, his hair brushed to the side. He was followed by second man who looked around the same age and was wearing a similar looking suit, but it was charcoal coloured. The third man was much younger, probably around the same age as Matt. He was wearing dark jeans and a black jacket; he looked out of place amongst the group.

"Walker? As in the Defence Secretary Richard Walker?" Connor said quietly, turning back to face the other two, who both nodded "Who are the other men with him?" Connor asked Becker, whose eyes were narrowed s frown appeared on his brow.

"I know one of them but not the other" Becker began "The one in the dark grey suit is Alexander Dale, he's the Director General of MI5. I saw him once when I was in Special Forces, we did a joint mission with an MI5 field team" Becker said quietly "Jess, can you do facial recognition of the other man?" he asked, turning to the young field coordinator, who gave him a small nod before walking over to the ADD and she set to work.

"What do you think they are doing here?" Connor asked "I thought we operated independently to the Home Office now?" Just as the ADD pinged and the results of the facial recognition scan came through.

"The man is Ethan Moore, he's from the CIA" Jess said quietly, clicking a few keys on the keyboard as more information pooped onto the screen "He works for the Office of Scientific Intelligence" Jess stated, just as a box popped up on the screen "His file is classified, there's no way I can find anything else out without hacking the CIA" he finished, looking up at Becker.

"Okay Jess, close the screen and delete the search history. If Lester wants us to know why they are here then he will tell us" Becker said sternly.

"Yeah, but why are the Defence Secretary, the director of MI5 and the CIA meeting with Lester, all at the same time" Connor asked quietly, saying out loud what the other two were thinking.

"It has to be something to with _New_ _Dawn_. I knew it wasn't just going to be forgotten about" Jess answered, just as they heard clicking making its way across the Hub, the three turned around to see Jenny standing behind them with a suspicious look on her face and her arms folded in front of her.

"What are you three up to?" she stated, and they knew it wasn't a question.

"You see the three men in Lester's office?" Connor asked and Jenny gave him a nod "One of them is the Defence Secretary, and the other two are from MI5 and the CIA" Connor said quietly as Jenny stepped closer to them. She raised an eyebrow at Connor and looked to Becker to confirm it.

"He's right, the man in the charcoal suit is Alexander Dale, the Director General of MI5. The younger one is Ethan Moore, he works for the CIA Office of Scientific Intelligence" Becker answered, and Jenny frowned as she turned to face Lester's office.

"What the hell is going on? Why are they here" she whispered to the others, who all had similar looks of concern on their faces. The three men stayed in Lester's office for about 20 minutes, and as the four members of the team watched carefully on, it looked like they were having a pretty intense conversation. Eventually, the three men left the office and disappeared into the lift just as a phone rung on the ADD, Jess quickly went over to the super computer and answered it.

"Hello…yes he is free now…oh right…send him down, I will meet him at the lift" Jess said and put the phone down.

"Who was that Jess?" Becker asked, watching Lester in his office.

"Amy at reception, there's someone up there needing to see Lester. Apparently he has clearance and an ARC issue pass" Jess answered as she left the ADD and walked across the Hub, stopping at Lester's office to inform him of his visitor before patiently waiting by the lift for the man to reach the Hub. The lift pinged and the doors slid open, and Jess let out a little sigh, as did Jenny. The man who was standing in the lift looked like David Beckham, he had the most perfect face with bright blue eyes and dark brown hair that was styled very nicely, he also had a light layer of stubble covering his cheeks and chin. He was wearing a crisp black suit that fitted his body perfectly, and even from where Jenny was sitting she could see the light outline of his abs through the blue shirt.

"Are you Jessica Parker?" the man asked in a deep voice, and Jess blushed slightly.

"Oh yes, yes I'm Jessica, but please call me Jess, well only if you want to" Jess stammered out, and Connor glanced over at Becker, who was frowning at the young field coordinator.

"It's nice to meet Jess, I'm Gavin Ashton" he replied, holding out his hand, which Jess quickly shook as Lester appeared almost from nowhere.

"Nice to see you Gavin, and what do I owe this pleasure?" Lester asked, and Jess noticed the slight sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"Why don't we take it into your office James" Gavin replied "It's a rather delicate conversation" he added, giving Lester a pointed look.

"Yes fine, do you have work to do Miss Parker?" Lester snapped, causing the ARC field coordinator to jump slightly as Lester led the new arrival into his office. Jess quickly jogged back over to where the group was sitting, Connor and Becker both had raised eyebrows whilst Jenny was smiling.

"Any idea who he is?" Jenny asked Jess, who nodded her head before practically skipping over to the ADD to run a facial recognition scan of Gavin Ashton. Connor, Becker and Jenny followed her over to the computer just as the results came back almost instantly. The four of them were silent for a moment, not believing what they were seeing on the screen.

"Assistant Director of ARC Operations…since when has there been an Assistant Director?" Connor asked quietly, looking at the others. Jess typed a few more keys on the keyboard, and a summary came up on the screen.

"He was employed two months ago by the minster to assist Lester with the running of the ARC, before that he was the head of Royal Protection and worked for MI5…wait, he's 40" Jess exclaimed, looking up at the others.

"40, he looked a lot younger then that" Jenny murmured, giving Jess a grin

"Something is going on guys" Becker said "I don't think it's a coincidence that the MOD, MI5 and the CIA have all been to see Lester, and now this Assistant Director has popped up. Whatever is happening, it's not good" he added, giving the other three members of the team a grim look as he turned back to Lester's office, worried about her boss.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven – Under Investigation Part 1**

It was late in the evening by the time Gavin Ashton left the ARC, and by this point the rest of the core team had been told of the afternoons guests Lester had received. None of them had gone home, and soon the night shift had begun filing into the Anomaly Research Centre. Abby, Emily and Danny were in the menagerie whilst the rest of the team were in the armoury as this was the one place in the ARC the night shift never entered. Jess was quietly sitting at the ADD; she was completing her field report for the anomaly that had appeared earlier that day, with the routine nature of the anomaly it wouldn't take her too long to complete. She suddenly felt a presence behind her, quickly turning around she saw Lester walking towards her with a grim look on her face.

"Miss Parker, I need you run a Lockdown drill now please" he said quietly, and Jess didn't argue with her boss, she just pressed a few keys on the keyboard and the lockdown alarms blared through the ARC. The alarm was different to the anomaly alert, the lights that pulsed through the corridors were a darker red and the siren had a deeper sound. After a couple of minutes, the ARC had been completely evacuated and only the members of the core team remained in the Hub, the lights finally turned themselves off, meaning all exits were now completely locked down, the dim blue from the emergency lighting now filled the Hub as the metal shutters reached the ground, sealing the team in.

"Why have you launched a lockdown drill James, we haven't got one scheduled for two weeks. What's going on?" Matt asked the ARC director.

"I needed to be able to talk freely to you, and the only way of doing that is in a lockdown situation. The CCTV is disabled right now?" Lester said as he looked at Jess.

"Yes, all power is shut down in the ARC apart from the backup system which I have remote control over" Jess said, holding up the tablet in her hand, Lester gave her a small nod.

"Right we don't have long so I will make this as brief as possible" Lester said, taking a deep breath before he started "As you probably al know by now, earlier today we were visited by the Defence Secretary as well as members of MI5 and the CIA. Its seems that the Ministry of Defence are launching an investigation into our handling of Philip Burton and _New Dawn, _one that has been prompted by the security services and our allies across the Atlantic" Lester said.

"I understand why the MOD are investigating it, but what does it have to with the Americans" Jenny asked the civil servant.

"What Burton was planning to do was not only a matter of national security but also international security; it seems our friends in the White House feel the need to get involved. They threatened to go to NATO if we didn't cooperate with them" Lester answered.

"So who is Gavin Ashton? We may or may not have searched him and his file says he the Assistant Director of ARC Operations. Since when have we had an Assistant Director?" Connor asked, earning him an elbow in the side from Becker.

"Gavin Ashton was hired by the minister two months ago to assist with ARC operations. The command structure of the ARC is changing, it seems the minster has concerns over my leadership of the ARC, and he wanted someone in place should something happen to me" Lester answered, seeing the looks concern on the faces of his team.

"What do you know about him? Have you met him before?" Danny asked.

"I know Gavin very well, I was his mentor when he worked as an MI5 officer, I became his liaison at the Home Office until the anomalies and the ARC, he then became the head of Royal Protection until 2012 when he took a leave of absence to look after his son's. It was on my recommendation he became our Assistant Director. He's a good man with a modern perspective, but he is naïve and can be bloody reckless at times, he tends to think of the consequences after the event" Lester paused giving Matt a pointed look "He agreed to taking the Director role as a favour to me, I thought if you were going to have a new boss, he might be the best fit. However I don't know how loyal he is to me or the minster" Lester finished.

"That's all well and good, but you're not going anywhere, are you James?" Jenny asked quietly.

"Not yet, but I don't know how secure my future here" Lester said, looking Jenny in the eye, there was a moment of silence between the team.

"So what happens next, if they are investigating us?" Matt asked cautiously, looking at Lester.

"You be honest with them, and tell them the truth" Lester said simply, knowing he didn't have much longer till lockdown would need to be lifted "One more thing, the security of the ARC has been compromised, I found one of these in my office" Lester said, pulling out a small plastic bag from his suit jacket pocket and holding it up, the team saw a small metal disk in the corner of the bag "I'm assuming its some kind of listening device" he said, looking at Connor who took the bag from him.

"I'll have a look in my lab, how did you disable it?" the young computer geek asked.

"I accidently dropped it into a glass of water, complete accident" Lester said, Jenny looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"How very clumsy of you James" she said, giving the ARC director a smile. He raised an eyebrow at her before walking over to the ADD, he then turned back to face the team.

"Captain Becker, I need you to do a complete sweep of the building for any more of these devices, if you find any, leave them be. They can't know we know about them, any private conversations need to be through hand written channels only" Lester said "I don't know what's going to happen next, but understand this, I will not let some bloody government crack pots interfere with our work here" he finished, looking at his team, he then turned to Jess.

"Miss Parker, lift Lockdown and the run diagnostics on the ADD system. This needs to look like a routine drill. Give it an hour and then I want you lot to go home" Lester said, before walking through the Hub and over to his office, closing the door behind him.

xxxxx

The next morning, Abby, Conner and Jess arrived at the Anomaly Research Centre later than usual thanks to road works taking place in the city centre. Pulling her black Ford Focus into its parking space, Abby was the first out of the car just as her mobile phone beeped, looking at the screen she read the message to herself, it was from Jenny.

_Meeting in the Conference Room, 9.30am_

Abby slammed the car door shut and looked up and Connor and Jess, who were standing at the side of the car and checking their own phones as well.

"Did you get a message from Jenny?" Abby asked them, Connor gave her a nod whilst Jess checked her watch.

"I got one as well, we have ten minutes to get some coffee and meet them in there" Jess replied as the three of them made their way towards the lift.

"What do you think it's about, do you think it has something to do with what happened yeste-" but Connor stopped mid-sentence as Jess punched him in the arm and gave him a pointed look. Connor fell silent after that. At 9.30, the three of them trooped into the conference room and found the rest of the team gathered round the large rectangle table, Lester was sitting at the head of the table whilst Jenny, Matt and Becker were sitting on his left and Emily and Danny were on the right. The newest arrivals sat in the spare chairs just as another man entered the room, the team recognised him as Gavin Ashton, dressed in a slim fitted black suit .

"Good morning all, I apologise for the early nature of this meeting" Gavin began, standing at the foot table and addressing the team "As you all probably know by now, my name is Gavin Ashton and I have been employed to the ARC as Assistant Director by the minster, my role is to provide support to James in the running of the vital operation here" he said, looking at the faces in front of him, he could the glares of the assembled filed team members, and he knew they thought he was the bad guy.

"One thing I need to make clear is that I am not coming in here looking to take over from James as director, nor do I want to cause any friction with this team" Gavin paused for a moment as he wanted to word what he needed to say carefully "Recent events have interested a lot of different parties, the main being our friends in the Ministry of Defence. I'm sure James has filled you in on the upcoming investigation that will be taking place, my presence at the ARC has nothing to do with it, and I am not part of this inquiry" Gavin finished and he could still see the untrusting looks he was getting from the team.

"I appreciate I will need to earn your trust, after what happened with the previous government officer who was seconded to work here" Gavin said, and Emily leant into Danny.

"To whom is he referring to?" Emily whispered, thinking he may have been talking about.

"Christine Johnson, it's a long story, I'll explain later" Danny replied as Lester stood up and buttoned up his suit jacket before walking to the head of the table.

"Thank you Gavin, whatever is going to happen will happen, however your jobs are not in any doubt" Lester said to his team, just as the sound of the ADD alarms filled the room.

"Of you go then, do your thing" Lester said dryly to his team, who all stood up and left the room, he then turned to face Gavin, who looked like he was going to ask something.

"Do you mind if I tag along with the team, I feel like I need to get as involved as I can for them to trust me" Gavin asked his former mentor.

"Yes you may as well, although if try not to get killed. Probably won't look to good when the inquiry begins" Lester replied and Gavin gave him a small nod before following the team out of the room.

Xxxxx

"I still don't understand why he has to come with us, is he spying on us?" Connor asked the occupants of the ARC pickup truck, Matt was at the wheel and Abby was sitting in the passenger seat, whilst Becker was sitting beside Connor.

"All he'll be doing is staying with Jenny, I'm sure he just wants to see us doing our thing" Matt said, trying to be diplomatic with his answer.

"Do you honestly believe that?" Abby sked the team leader, just as the voice of Jess Parker filled the inside of the pickup.

"_Guys, the area has been evacuated and as of yet there hasn't been an incursion. I've hacked the CCTV and it's all clear, and the police are on site keeping people back"_ Jess said, before adding quickly "_You're a minute out from the site_".

"Thanks Jess, keep us updated" Matt answered, glancing in the rear mirror and seeing Jenny behind the wheel of the second pickup with Gavin sitting beside her, behind them was the black 4x4 carrying the special forces soldiers.

"We need to forget about Ashton and concentrate on the anomaly. If he is watching us, we don't need to give him any fuel to add to the fire. No heroics, we do this by the book" Becker said, just as the location of the anomaly alert came into sight. The anomaly was located on a busy high street, and the road closure had caused serious traffic problems and the crowds had gathered along the road. After showing their government ID badges to the police officers, they were allowed through the police cordon and Matt parked the pickup just past the row of police cars that were blocking the road, other emergency vehicles also lined the side of the road. The team clambered out of the pickups and powered up their EMD's, Connor then began to unload the Locking Mechanism from the bed of the pickup. As the team assembled by the entrance to the sound, a loud roar filled the air, Jess filled their earpieces.

"_The anomaly is located in the store room of TopShop. There has been an incursion, but the CCTV was knocked out before I could get a closer look. Jenny, you're going to have to get the public moved further back. I'm sending down a medic crew just in case you need them"_ Jess finished, just as a loud crash forced the team to turn around. They heard the shattering of glass and watched as several clothing racks and mannequins flew out of the shop and landed on the road.

"Jenny, do your thing. Becker, tell your men to stay outside, if anything comes out that shop they shoot it" Matt began "We'll enter the shop and attempt to contain the creature" he finished and his assembled team gave him a nod, Matt then turned to look at Gavin "Stay back with Jenny" Matt said and quickly unloaded an EMD rifle from the pickup "Use this only if you have to, that switch to power it up and pull the trigger. Lester said your ex-MI5, guessing you must be a good shot" he said before he and the team moved towards the shop. Once they were close enough, Matt chanced a glance round the corner and into the shop window to see what the team were up against.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight – Under Investigation Part 2**

_"__Jenny, do your thing. Becker, tell your men to stay outside and on the road, if anything comes out that shop they shoot it" Matt began "We'll enter the shop and attempt to contain the creature" he finished and his assembled team gave him a nod, Matt then turned to look at Gavin "Stay back with Jenny" Matt said and quickly unloaded an EMD rifle from the pickup "Use this only if you have to, that switch to power it up and pull the trigger. Lester said your ex-MI5, guessing you must be a good shot" he said before he and the team moved towards the shop. Once they were close enough, Matt chanced a glance round the corner and into the shop window to see what the team were up against._

"What have we got Matt?" Becker asked quietly, hearing the loud crunching of glass from inside the shop.

"An Ankylosaurus, an adult I think, it's at least 2 metres tall" Matt replied, knowing this was going to be incredibly tough to contain and return home through the doorway in time.

"The anomaly must lead to the Cretaceous then; we need to get it locked before anything else comes through. The armour on its back is thick, the EMD's probably won't affect it if we hit the plates, we'll need to aim for its underbelly" Connor told the team, Matt was silent for a moment before pressing his earpiece.

"Jess, do you know exactly where the anomaly is in the building?" Matt asked the young field coordinator.

"_It was in the store room, directly behind the shop floor. The creature must have gone through the wall separating the two_" Jess replied, Matt could hear Danny and Emily talking in the background, but not what they were saying.

"Thanks Jess" the team leader then turned to his three team mates "Ankylosaurus are incredibly heavy, so moving it when it's knocked out isn't going to be an option. Instead of knocking the creature out, were going to use the EMD's on the lowest setting to push the creature back through the anomaly. Once it's through, Connor, you get the anomaly locked" Matt told his team, who gave him nods "It's a herbivore so it won't be trying to eat us, just keep out of the way of the tail, if that hits you, it'll be like getting hit by a car" he added just as the creature let out a low roar.

Matt held up three fingers and lowered slowly, once they were all lowered, the team moved forward in unison and began firing EMD rounds at the creature, which turned its head to face the team. The heavy tail swung through the air, the club smashing into a glass partition that went from the floor to the ceiling, the resulting smash sent shards of glass flying through the air. Abby was closest to the glass and she let go of her EMD to shield her face, but one piece of glass managed to pierce her cheek. Matt turned to what had happened to Abby and moved quickly across the shop floor to cover her, firing EMD rounds straight at the Ankylosaurus, which reared slightly onto its back legs.

"Becker" Matt shouted across the shop "I'm getting Abby out of here, you and Connor get it back through the anomaly" the team leader yelled, guiding the young blond woman out of the shop. Becker and Connor slowly moved forward, forcing the large creature back towards the anomaly at the back of the room. The Ankylosaurus raised it head and let out another roar and moved forwards, sending more racks of clothes flying through the air. Becker dived out of the way of a metal clothing rack that flew in his direction, hitting the hard ground with a loud thud, he heard Connor shout something and then the voice of another man reply. Through his blurry vision, Becker could hear the creature roar and saw it move backwards further into the shop, the unmistakable sounds of EMD blasts filling the room, then everything around the military captain went silent.

"Get it locked Connor" a voice ordered in the distance, and Becker then heard the crunch of broken glass and felt someone grab his shoulder, giving him a shake, his vision still blurry from when he hit his head.

"Mmm fine" Becker groggily mumbled, attempting to sit up, he then saw the face of Gavin Ashton in front of him, a concerned frown on his face.

"Are you sure Captain?" Gavin asked as Connor quickly made his way over to where Becker was sitting.

"The anomaly's locked and there's no sign of any other creatures" Connor said, kneeling down and giving Becker a worried look. Becker's vision slowly became less blurry and he took in the scene around him, and he could only hope the shop had insurance. Broken bricks and concrete were scattered across the shop floor from where the Ankylosaurus had smashed its way out of the store room, leaving a gaping hole in the wall separating the store room. Becker turned to look at Gavin Ashton a bit more closely, the sleeves to his white shirt were rolled up and his shirt was untucked, he looked nothing like the normal government worker the captain was used to seeing.

"Is Abby okay?" Becker asked, remembering it had been the young blonde who taken the impact of the shattering glass partition.

"She'll be fine mate" Matt answered, appearing beside the military captain, followed by Jenny "Just a superficial graze, it looked worse than it actually was" he finished, watching as Becker stood up. He wobbled slightly as the blood rushed to his head, and Gavin was quickly at his side, an arm round his shoulder keeping him up.

"I'm impressed you managed to get the creature through by yourself Connor" Matt smiled at the young computer geek, who looked up at the team leader.

"It wasn't me, it was all Gavin, just marched through the door and fired at the Ankylosaurus until it went through, he was like a machine" Connor said with a impressed grin at the assistant director.

"It was nothing, honestly" Gavin replied shyly before leading Becker out of the ruined shop and into the back of the ARC ambulance waiting outside on the street. Once the two had disappeared from view, Connor continued

"Trust me, it was more than nothing, was like something from a James Bond film. I'm going to find Abby" he said, bending down to pick up Becker's discarded EMD rifle before walking out of the shop. Matt then tuned to look at Jenny before walking over to her.

"Good luck explaining this to the owners Jen, I'll keep two men here to watch over the anomaly until it closes. Make sure the road stays closed until we can get the windows boarded up" Matt ordered.

"Already organised, the road will stay closed till tomorrow morning and Jess is sending someone down with wooden boards to block up the windows" Jenny answered "As for what I will tell the owners, I'll work on that when I get back to the ARC. Could tell him the truth, that way he might just laugh at me" she finished, sighing as looked around at the devastation.

Xxxxx

Outside on the main road, Abby and Becker were both sat in the back of the ARC ambulance getting checked over by two of the ARC's medical team when Connor found them.

"You both looked wrecked" he said simply, leaning against the doorway of the ambulance, this earned him two glares from his teammates.

"Thanks Connor, it's nice to see you too" Abby snapped at her fiancé, winching slightly as Alex, one of the ARC medics, finished cleaning up the cut on her cheek.

"You very lucky it only tore the surface of the skin Abby, any deeper and it definitely would have needed stiches and probably would have scarred" the male paramedic told her before softly placing a plaster on her cheek "Change the plaster every few hours or as and when you need too" he finished, watching as his colleague Sophie tended to Becker.

"Captain Becker, you have a mild concussion so I advise you stay at the ARC tonight where we can keep an eye on you" Sophie began as she ripped of her gloves "Although if you have someone who can go home with you then I'll be happy with that" she stated.

"He can come home with me" answered the voice of Jenny Lewis from outside the ambulance "I'll keep an eye on him and wake him up every couple of hours" she told the paramedic, who gave her a nod.

"Very well, if Captain Becker is happy with that then I am too" Sophie replied, and Becker grinned as he gave a nod, knowing he couldn't argue with the ARC teams PR officer.

"You two ride back to the ARC with the medics, we'll finish up here and meet you there" Jenny ordered and Connor stepped back from the ambulance, letting Sophie slam the door shut. Connor and Jenny then watched as the ambulance started up and drove out of view, the two of them then turned back to where the shop was stood, looking at the glass and clothes that covered the road out front.

"What the hell are you going to tell the press?" Connor asked Jenny, who looked over at him with a smile on her face.

"I have something in mind" Jenny replied before straightening her dress and walking over to where the assembled new crews and reporters were stood. Connor smiled to himself before wandering back over to the shop to see if Matt needed a hand with anything.

Xxxxx

"_…__and in other news, Strand Avenue has reopened to the public following the closure of the high street earlier this morning due to a power surge in the store room of TopShop. Emergency services were called to the scene at around 9.30am this morning following a small explosion in the store room of the popular clothing shop. The high street remained closed until 7pm this evening, when it was reopened. Queues and delays on the roads are expected until late into the evening_-" the television in Lester's office was muted and the ARC director turned to face Gavin Ashton, who sat on the other side of the desk watching something on his iPhone.

"I have to admit, Jenny is very good at what she does" Gavin expressed looking up from his phone to Lester "There are videos online of what happened, the only one I could find was the edited one she supplied to the press" he added, putting his phone into his suit pocket.

"That's why I tried so hard to get her back last year" Lester said, watching out of his office window as Jenny, Becker and Danny made their way through the Hub and towards the lift that would take them to the underground car park. He then picked up a plastic file folder and passed it to Gavin "I read the field report Connor supplied, it seems you were quite the hero today" Lester told his assistant director, who dropped the file onto the desk.

"It was honestly nothing, Abby was injured and Matt got her out of the shop, I just stepped in thinking they might have needed some help" Gavin said, standing up and doing up the buttons to his suit jacket " I need to get going, the boys are home alone and I can only imagine what might be happening" he finished, smiling at Lester.

"How are they doing, I know it must be hard doing it alone" Lester said as he leant back in his chair, Gavin was silent for a moment before sighing and sitting back down in the seat he had just vacated.

"It wasn't hard when they were younger, they needed me back then, plus my sister has always been with us and supported me. Now there older they go off and do their own thing" he said, watching as Lester pulled out a bottle of whiskey and two glasses from his drawer.

"How old are they now, it's been what; eight years since I saw them last" Lester said as he poured a generous amount of amber liquid into each glass and then handed one to Gavin.

"Ben is 21 and works at the Home Office as a personal assistant. Owen turned 18 last month, he's doing his second year of college" Gavin said as he pulled his wallet out of his pocket and found a recent photo of his two sons, he always carried it with him; he then passed it to Lester.

"They've grown up a lot. The last time I saw Owen he was half the size and the curls were overflowing his head" Lester smiled "Ben looks exactly like you, everything except your smile, he has Claire's smile in this photo" Lester remembered fondly as he passed the photo back to Gavin once the younger man had downed the contents of his drink.

"Yeah, he does. I'm glad one of them has something of hers" Gavin said quietly to Lester, who studied him closely, eventually the silence was broken by Gavin's phone ringing, he quickly looked for Lester's approval before he answered it.

"Hi Owen, everything okay…yeah, I'm just leaving work now…its fine, I'll pick you up on the way home…okay, see you then…bye" Gavin finished before hanging up the phone, he then looked apologetically at Lester, who shrugged.

"Go on, go home Gavin, it's been a long day" Lester ordered and Gavin gave him a small smile before standing up and making way towards the door, he then looked back to his boss sitting behind the desk.

"Night boss" Gavin said before quickly making his way out of Lester's office and disappearing from view. Lester sat back in his chair again and picked up his own mobile, hesitating slightly, he then dialled a number and waited for a response.

"Hello dear…I'm coming now, I'll be half an hour…okay, love you…see you in a bit" Lester finished before powering down his computer and leaving his office, turning out the lights as the door slowly shut behind him.


End file.
